G&T's Excellent Adventure

WED., NOV 1 thru THUR., DEC 14, 2023

We arrived at charming Hidden River RV Resort in Riverview FL (30 minutes east of Tampa) on November 1, (2023). It’s filled with greenery… lots of live oak, palm trees and grassy areas throughout the property plus views of the Alafia River from certain vantage points. We’re in the newer section with nice spacious sites… not far from the heated pool. The older portion of the campground is filled with lots of long time winter residents. We’re looking forward to our 2-month stay seeing family and friends, exploring Tampa, and hanging with our pod! Cheryl’s bestie, Carol Ann, was our first visitor. There’s never a dull moment when Carol Ann visits! We adore her! 

Then the Tise family joined us for a visit from Austin. We spent 2 fabulous days with them! They are one of our favorite families on the planet. They were kind enough to work in a visit to us after spending time in Disneyworld. We relaxed, played games, enjoyed pool time and even did a campfire and s’mores despite humidity and 80+ degree temps! 

During our first few weeks here we’ve been treated to some pretty sunsets, a rainbow or two, and the unusual sight of a cockatoo making the rounds on a golf cart at night accompanied by his people!  We even saw a “committee” of vultures in a tree a few nights. Apparently that’s what you call a bunch of vultures hanging out together… a committee, venue, or volt. Learn something new everyday!

One night our pod of 4 headed to the campground’s clubhouse for some music. C&J got some dancing in and wowed everybody! I was happy to do a few line dances and the twist! Hubby is not a dancer!

During our stay here, we’ve visited the TECO (Tampa Energy) Manatee Viewing Center three times. It was voted the second best Free Attraction by USA Today. We visited twice in November with Cheryl & Joe and then again with our friend Mary when she came to visit us in December. 

We did learn that manatees can’t survive in cold water so they gather near natural springs and power plant outfalls from November thru March because of the warmer waters. The first time we visited air temps were warm so we didn’t see many manatees but we did see sharks, a dolphin, various fish, and egrets. On our second and third visits to the Viewing Center we had better success, and saw lots of manatees. They look prehistoric… lumbering yet graceful as they slowly move through the water. 

Some facts about manatees:

• Approximately 65% of Florida Manatees spend the winter near power plants, while only 15% return to natural warm water springs. They cannot survive for long in waters below 68 degrees F. 
• Average adult manatees are 9-10 feet long, but some can reach over 13 feet. They typically weight around 1,000 pounds, but can weigh up to 3,500 pounds. Females are usually larger than the males. 
• A manatee stores enough oxygen in its lungs to remain underwater up to 20 minutes while at rest.
• Mom will sometimes adopt another calf.
• Babies can nurse from their moms for up to 2 years. 
• Thirty five different manatees have returned here for 20 years or more.
• One manatee has come back to the power station each year for more than 35 years!
• While manatees can live more than 60 years in the wild, only about half make it to adulthood. Collisions with boats are the number one threat to manatees in Florida.

The Viewing Center even has a Cownose Ray touch tank. They also have nice walking trails and boardwalks surrounded by mangrove trees and a 50 ft. observation tower. Fun place to visit! We also visited nearby Apollo Beach on a few occasions.

Nov. 29th, (2023) marked our 4th Year Anniversary of living this amazing nomadic RV lifestyle! Our goal when we started was to explore this beautiful country. While this life isn’t for everyone, it most definitely suits Gary and me. We feel blessed this year to have seen Death Valley, the Badlands, Michigan’s UP and the incredible Great Lakes. We’re always humbled to learn first hand the rich history of our country. This year that meant visiting the Biltmore in Asheville, the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, and appreciating Lewis & Clark’s bravery as we visited stops along their expedition. We are beyond thankful to have connected with family & friends in Arizona, Texas, North Carolina and Florida. And, we’re grateful to have shared this incredible experience for much of the last two years with the Hannafords. They are treasured friends and awesome travel partners. 

The hardships are there… dealing with medical issues on the road, RV breakdowns, and scary weather. All of which we dealt with this year. While we certainly don’t wish for these things to happen, it makes you appreciate the days when things are going smoothly and life is really, really good. 

Some stats since embracing this nomadic life. We’ve visited a total of 27 national parks (about half since becoming nomads), explored 44 states, stayed in 175 different campgrounds, and towed over 40,000 miles (7,000 this year).

We hope for many more happy miles on the road and hopefully connecting with many of you down the road!

Once again this year’s Thanksgiving was a wonderfully laid back day with the Hannafords. We enjoyed game playing, a delicious Turkey dinner, and drank a toast to our good fortune of living this nomadic lifestyle that we all so love. On Thursday, Nov. 30th, (2023) we welcomed a visit from camping friends, Lucy and Danny, who we met in New Hampshire at Old Stage Campground. They live an hour away, but made the trek over to come play with us. A fun day! We, of course, had to play Corn hole. I think Lucy was the best player of us all, and we celebrated Danny’s birthday a few days early.  

Saturday, Dec. 2nd, I went with Cheryl and Joe to “Art on the Farm.” A craft fair at a farm that also is a cat sanctuary. They also had lots of chickens roaming around!

One of the perks of living this nomad life is traveling the country and having the opportunity to see family that we don’t often get to see. On Mon., Dec. 4th (2023) we spent the day with Gary’s delightful cousin, Lois! What a treat! We chatted for hours getting caught up on each other’s lives and family news. We toured Lois’s beautiful Lakewood Ranch home and community, and enjoyed lunch on the waterfront. A wonderful day!

In early December The Hannafords flew to NH to visit family/friends and Mary flew down to stay in their tiny home and cat-sit Miss Gigi! On Friday, Dec. 8th, (2023) Gary, Mary and I headed to St Pete and visited The Dalí Museum.

The museum was wild… from the building to Salvador Dalí’s art! He started as an Impressionist as a young student then adopted the Surrealist Movement. He is renowned for his technical drawing skills and the striking and bizarre images in his work… many gleaned from his dreams. No mistaking his art for anyone else’s! There were several of his “master works” on display. They are classified as master works if they are larger than 5 ft in either height or width, and they were painted over a period of a year or more. One painting was of his brother who died quite young. It’s a series of cherries made to look like printing dots. Another painting, looked at from a distance, appears to be the outline of President Lincoln. Dalí created this after reading a Scientific American article. His wife, Gala, was his muse and she’s the nude in the Lincoln portrait (photo below). And still another painting — this one of Dalí’s sister — has an upside down portion, which was painted years later. They had a troubled relationship. 

Very unusual works housed in a very unusual building! The concrete amorphic-shaped building is hurricane resistant and very eclectic. It has portholes inside that blow out cool air and a ceiling made of 1,000 pieces of glass in 3,000 pieces of metal. 

Afterwards we visited the St. Petersburg Pier. We enjoyed the 1-mile walk with views of Tampa Bay, an interesting art installation, craft vendors, and a great outdoor “linner.”

On Monday, Dec. 11th (2023), Gary and I walked a good portion of the 2.6 mile Tampa Riverwalk with Mary and enjoyed the beautiful water views and ogling the fancy yachts. One of the boats had a full-size decorated Christmas tree inside and a kitty strolling across a table.

We also learned some of the history of Tampa. Such as… in 1886 the first cigar was rolled in Ybor City, a neighborhood in Tampa. With its warm and humid climate and proximity to Cuba for tobacco, Tampa was a perfect location. In the 1920s, there were more than 200 cigar factories, mostly in Ybor City and West Tampa, making Tampa the global hub of the industry. Tampa’s nickname is Cigar City. 

There was a beautiful mural on display along the Riverwalk of the US Coast Guard Cutter “Tampa” that was sunk by a German submarine in 1918 during WWI. Everyone on board was lost. So sad. 

We had lunch at Butter Burgers… very unique burger combos! Mine was a burger with Gorgonzola, bacon and blueberry sauce. Yum. 

Afterwards we explored the University of Tampa located on the other side of the bay with its amazing Moorish minarets. It was originally the Tampa Bay Hotel, built in 1891 at a cost of $3 million by Henry Plant, a railroad tycoon. It became the social and cultural center of early Tampa. Purchased by the City of Tampa in 1905, it has served as the main building of the University of Tampa since 1933. It did not disappoint! It is remarkable… both inside and out! The hotel minarets are one of Tampa’s premier architectural icons.

Henry Plant Park is adjacent to the University and borders Tampa Bay. Gorgeous park with walking paths and the students had ingeniously set up hammocks amongst the trees. 

A fun day! We got our 10,000 steps in walking over 4.5 miles.

Mary returned to NH a few days later. Gary & I thoroughly enjoyed our time with her! We enjoyed our day trips, playing games, shared meals, and enjoyed the heated pool. Mary and I even managed to fit in a 2+ mile hike at Lithia Springs Conservation Park before she left. As always, a fun time with this remarkable woman! We look forward to more fun times together on down the road!

Now it’s time to welcome C&J back from their trip to New Hampshire. We have more fun things planned with them and more family visiting later in December… that’ll be covered in the next post of our stay in the Tampa area.